San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-09-28

parts: when tney wore COfuufONS anu
smOck they were farm labOrers, and
slouched in their gait, lifting their feet
heavily and swinging their shoulders, rs
those do who go much upon clay; when
they were on board they dressed like boat
men and they rolled like sailors. Joshua,
on the other hand, played three parts As
a miller, he had the reputation of being
grasping and greedy of gain, but honest in
his dealings. In this capacity he was al
ways fioury, like his men; and had it not
been for the tar upon his fingers, you
would say he had never smelled salt
water. As sailor, he was rs daring as
Dan, almost as skillful, and as hard to
yield as job and Jephthah. But he had
third character, which he reserved for
Saturday evening and Sunday. Then he
dressed himself in black coat and be-
came primitive Methody; one of GER
tain very small body so styled by them
selves, who met in a chapel about twelve
feet square, and took turns to preach and
pray. His Methodism has moth ing to dc
with my story, except to show the mas
terful character of the man. He would
be q leader; he wanted people 60 think as
he told them, and he could only do this in
q dissenting chapel. Dan, who accepted
the authority of the Rev. Mr.. Burden and
the church, was in his way, as religious Gs
he was honest. There is nothing, he fire.
quently argued, against smuggling, either
in Bible or Prayer Book. At the four
great festivals of the church he received
the sacrament; he slept every Sunday af-
ternoon over "Holy Living and Dying"
and he kept as have said, the roof on
the parish church.
1t was among these people that i spent
the first seventeen years of my life. Such
education as had was given me by the
rector at odd moments. / could read, but
had few books, and those knew by heart
They were Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Prog
ress," Robinson Crusoe" and one or two
more Writing / learned by slow de-
grees; my spelling has never, l own, been
correct, nor can l understand the fuss
which is made about that accomplish
ment. If the writer's meaning is clear,
why object to the omission or the addi-
ton of letter or two2 There was little
encouragement to literature in Rousdon
Farm. Job and Jephthah had learned,
like myself, to read and write; but as
they never practiced either art and sup
plemented memory only by chalk marks
ON the cart, suspect they had forgotten
both. Dan regarded writing as useful for
commercial purposes and reading on the
Sunday as an aid to devotion. In respect
to other uses there were instances which
he had heard of where passion for books
actually led the victim, by imperceptible
degrees, to the gallows. Certainly in
those years there were many, many roads
to that dismal tree.
did not read much, my duties at home
were soon got through, the rest oil my
time / spent upon the water, alone or with
Dan and on the Undercliff. In the even
ing there was sewing. But all day long
and all the year round, rain or sunshine,
was in the open air, gathering flowers
in the Holmbush fields, climbing among
the bracken under the Pinhay cliffs, sing
ing all alone in the woods upon the hill
sides, out upon the sea in the dingy, or
in summer bathing and swimming where
the rocks hid me from casual eyes which
never CHANGED to pass that way. II was
a lonely place, facing a lonely sea; few
ships ever sailed across that great bay
save the heavy craft which brought coal
from Wales, or the coasters which traded
from port to port, or the fishing craft from
Lyme and Beer. had the sea all to my
self when put out in the dingy, ran up
the little sail and sat in the stern, tiller in
one hand and rope in the other, while the
boat slipped through the short crisp
waves with murmurous whish, leaving
its little white track behind, while my
fancy ran riot, and l had visions such as
come to the young and innocent of a
golden and impossible future, lying among
figures indistinct and misty.
AS for the times we were always at
war. During the whole of my childhood,
and for a good many years afterward, the
talk was all of war. For five and-twenty
years England was fighting On the
south coast the war might at any moment
become more than rumOr; there was no
reason why a French privateer should not
cross over and do what mischief she could.
Every day, before breakfast, we all sol
EMMY looked out to sea-Dan with his
classic see if an enemy was lowering
over the coast, and once we saw a naval
action. The Frenchman was privateer;
the Englishman a brig Of war carrying
twelve guns. They ran side by side for a
while, firing necessarily, the Englishman
gradually reducing the distance. At last
they came to close quarters, and our men
boarded her. Oh, what sight! 1t was
too far off for us to see the horrors of bat
tle-the dead and wounded; but we could
make out, when the smoke cleared away,
that the union jack was run up where the
French flag had been flying, and Dan SOL
EMMY, with tears in his eyes, thanked the
God of victory. 1t was brave and gal
liant action; they made the commander Of
the brig a first lieutenant for it; then they
sent him out to Jamaica, where they for
got him altogether, although he did plenty
Of other things quite as good. This was
the way they used to treat our brave sail
ors. Thirty years afterward he came
home, still first lieutenant, and bald, by
reason Of the many men who had climbed
up over his head.
Heavens! how brave our men were, an
what fights they Fought They cut out
French ships under the guns of their own
batteries. They engaged vessels double
their own weight; whenever thcy saw an
enemys ship they attacked L.. The papers
were full of naval actions, which were al
ways victories. never saw the papers,
but heard the news whenever Dan came
back from Lyme. Bonaparte was going
to invade England, and made enormous
preparations; the whole country took up
arms, young and old; the war fever pos
sessed the British bull dog. There was
no fear in our hearts, nor any hesitation.
Looking back upon that time, / can only
feel that surely none other than the hand
of God was upon us; how else could we,
fighting against such odds as never any
other nation encountered, have fought so
bravely, and finished the struggle with SO
much honor?
CHAPTER II.
LOVE THE THOROUGHBRED.
have ALWAYS kept as q holiday the Nth